{"id":17038,"date":"2026-03-31T18:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/milestone-moon-mission-is-getting-a-push-from-pacific-northwest-tech\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:34:40","slug":"milestone-moon-mission-is-getting-a-push-from-pacific-northwest-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/milestone-moon-mission-is-getting-a-push-from-pacific-northwest-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Milestone moon mission is getting a push from Pacific Northwest tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Brent Urke, program manager for L3Harris\u2019 facility in Redmond, Wash., check out a model of the Orion spaceship that\u2019s due to take four astronauts around the moon as early as this week. Cantwell is pointing to the model\u2019s set of eight R-4D thrusters. An actual R-4D thruster, manufactured in Redmond, is sitting on the table at far left. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA\u2019s most powerful rocket is due to send four astronauts on a round-the-moon journey as early as this week, and although the launch team has to make sure everything goes right in Florida, the mission\u2019s success will also depend on hardware that was built in the Seattle area.<\/p>\n

During a visit to two of the contractors for NASA\u2019s Artemis moon program on Monday, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said that when it comes to spaceflight, it\u2019s important to get the little things right.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think, \u2018Oh, well, we know how to build big rockets,\u2019 right?\u201d the Washington state Democrat said at Karman Space & Defense\u2019s manufacturing facility in Mukilteo, Wash. \u201cBut do we know how to separate payloads and return them, and do all of that? That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing here in Puget Sound. \u2026 I think that\u2019s the untold story that people don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s big story will focus on the first humans to go from the Earth to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Artemis 2\u2019s crew won\u2019t land on the lunar surface during what\u2019s expected to be a 10-day mission. But because their figure-8 route takes them 4,700 miles beyond the moon\u2019s far side, they\u2019ll set a new distance record for human travel beyond Earth.<\/p>\n

The first opportunity for liftoff from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET (3:24 p.m. PT) on Wednesday, with backup dates available through April 6. NASA plans to provide live video coverage of the countdown and launch via YouTube, starting at 12:50 p.m. ET (9:50 a.m. PT) on launch day.<\/p>\n

This will be the second launch for NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket, which sent an uncrewed Orion space capsule around the moon for the Artemis 1 test mission in 2022. The Artemis 2 crew \u2014 including NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen \u2014 will be the first people to ride an Orion into space.<\/p>\n

If all goes according to plan, Artemis 2 will clear the way for NASA to test the lunar landers built by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space ventures in 2027, then for Artemis 3 to put astronauts on the surface of the moon in 2028. And that\u2019s just the start. \u201cUltimately, Artemis is about returning to the moon and building a permanent moon base that can then be used for accelerating our travel to Mars,\u201d Cantwell said. <\/p>\n

In order for the Artemis program\u2019s big story to unfold, thousands of smaller but no less important stories will have to play out successfully. NASA says 2,700 commercial suppliers in 47 states have contributed to the Artemis program. More than three dozen of those suppliers, ranging from Blue Origin to SuperGraphics, have a presence in Washington state.<\/p>\n

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